OUR COMMUNITY

From the backyard to the backcountry, we're out there.

BMG trains adventurers, outdoor professionals, event crews, mountain bikers, maritime workers, and everyday community members across the Pacific Northwest. In 2025 alone, we trained more than 1,300 people across 29 locations. Our students come from all walks of life, united by one thing: a desire to be prepared when it counts.

We're also woven into the fabric of Whatcom County in ways that go beyond the classroom. We partner with beloved local organizations, staff emergency medical operations at major community events, and work alongside neighbors who share our belief that a more prepared community is a stronger one.

Why is BMG a 501(c)(3) nonprofit?

Wilderness medicine belongs to everyone. That's the belief at the core of everything we do, and it's why BMG exists as a nonprofit.

When someone completes a BMG course, they don't leave with just a certification. They leave with the ability to assess an injury, manage a crisis, and act with confidence before professional help arrives. Those skills don't stay in the backcountry. They come home. Our graduates return to their neighborhoods, workplaces, and families as more prepared people, and that ripple effect into everyday community resilience is something we're deeply proud of.

We invest in education that actually works: small groups, expert instructors, and hands-on scenarios that put students in real situations where real decisions get made. We design our programs to be transformative, not just informational. And our nonprofit structure lets us stay fully committed to that, reinvesting in training quality, building partnerships that extend our reach, and offering scholarships so that cost is never the reason someone doesn't get trained.

The Backcountry Fund- Scholarships

In 2025, BMG awarded $16,644 in scholarships to ensure that financial constraints don't stand between anyone and life-saving wilderness medicine training. We prioritize underrepresented communities in outdoor recreation, youth participants, search and rescue volunteers, and individuals facing financial hardship. Learn more and apply at backcountrymedicalguides.org/scholarship-apply.

Community Event Medical & EMS Coordinator

BMG provides emergency planning and volunteer medical staffing for major Bellingham community events, including Northwest Tune-Up and the Fire & Story Festival. Our work includes full emergency action plan design, multi-agency coordination, and on-site deployment of volunteer medical teams with professional oversight — so thousands of participants can gather safely, and coordinated EMS response is ready when it's needed.

Community Partnerships

BMG's reach extends far beyond individual students. We work with a wide range of organizations across the Pacific Northwest — from trail advocates and tribal natural resource teams to high school outdoor programs and volunteer emergency response groups. Organizations including Skagit Alpine Club, Mountain to Sound Greenway, Lummi Nation, Vashon High School, GIVE volunteers, Natural Systems Design, and King County have trusted BMG to support and train their staff, among many others. Each group brings different needs and different environments, and we love meeting them where they are.

Backcountry Medical Guides is proud to partner with Whatcom County EMS to present Adventure Rx, a quarterly continuing education series designed for healthcare professionals, first responders, and wilderness-savvy community members. Each session delivers hands-on, scenario-based field training across a rotating set of seasonal topics, from mountain medicine at Mt. Baker to maritime rescue at Squalicum Harbor. The series is accredited for AMA CME and Washington State EMS continuing education credits, reflecting a shared commitment between our two organizations to raising the standard of remote and austere care across the region.

Backcountry Medical Guides has been partnering with Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition, our local trail advocacy group, to ensure their volunteers and ride leaders have strong first aid skills. We host several First Aid for Mountain Bikers programs each spring for WMBC volunteers, and work with the organization to spread awareness for our WFA for Mountain Bikers program, the next step in mountain bike-specific wilderness medicine. In 2026, that partnership takes on a new dimension: BMG is serving as the EMS coordinator for the Whatcom World Cup, bringing our emergency planning expertise to one of the region's most anticipated mountain bike events.

Since 2024, we have partnered with Shifting Gears, a Bellingham-based nonprofit, to run two-day Wilderness First Aid (WFA) program that are led by women, for women. The goal is to maximize experiential learning through an active and practical curriculum while creating an inclusive space for women to learn, grow, and build their confidence with emergency medicine.

“I just really appreciate the opportunity and I feel so much more confident in my abilities after the course than before I started; that's all I was hoping for! I am super inspired by these ladies and really loved this all-women atmosphere!!”—Shifting Gears WFA Participant

The Mountaineers is “a 15,000+ member community of people exploring, learning, and conserving the Pacific Northwest together by finding confidence and belonging in the outdoors.” We could not think of a better organization to partner with for bringing wilderness medicine to outdoor adventurers of all disciplines and abilities. We have been working with The Mountaineers’ Bellingham Branch to offer a Wilderness First Aid program for their members for three years running now.

Northwest Tune-Up is Bellingham’s summertime festival dedicated to music, mountain biking, and craft beer. The event puts our hometown on display for visitors from all over the country, showcasing the region’s best trails, taps, and music artists in a celebration of Northwest culture. As the event’s safety partner, Backcountry Medical Guides coordinates a volunteer crew of medics and first responders for on-site first aid needs at the waterfront venue. We love showcasing all that Bellingham has to offer, and are proud to help ensure visitors get a full, safe experience.